London open: Airlines, financial stocks provide a lift

(Sharecast News) - London's FTSE 100 advanced on Thursday morning with strong gains from airline and financial stocks providing a big lift, as the index continues to recover from hitting a four-week low on Tuesday. The UK benchmark index was 0.6% higher at 7,892 by the 0900 BST mark. The Footsie fell sharply on Tuesday (-1.8%) to its lowest since mid-March on the back of escalating tensions in the Middle East and fading hopes of rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.

Things look relatively quiet on the economic data front for Thursday, with US jobless claims, the Philadelphia manufacturing index and national existing home sales being the only major releases of the day.

However, speeches from a number of central bank members will likely garner a lot of attention as financial leaders meet at the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Spring events in Washington.

Airlines and financials rise

Budget airline easyJet was a high riser, gaining 4% after reporting that its winter losses narrowed by more than £50m over the six months through March. The company said that despite challenges like fuel cost inflation and Middle East tensions impacting results, targeted capacity growth, productivity gains and flat year-on-year unit costs excluding fuel contributed to its improvement.

Sector peers Wizz Air and IAG were also in demand early on.

Meanwhile, financial stocks such as Prudential, Phoenix and Standard Chartered were also among the best performers on the FTSE 100.

Leading the fallers was Rentokil Initial reported a 4.9% increase in group revenue for the first three months of 2024, with 3.1% attributed to organic revenue growth and continued pricing momentum. The FTSE 100 firm said growth in North America stabilised, with organic revenue up 1.5%, driven by early initiatives of its growth plan. It saw a positive performance across all regions and categories, with particular progress in technician sales leads participation rates, customer retention, and successful pricing strategies.

On the FTSE 250, shares in Hipgnosis Songs Fund rocketed by more than 30% after the music rights investor said it had agreed a $1.4bn takeover by US-based Concord Chorus, a music and theatrical rights firm. Hipgnosis Songs investors will get $1.16 a share in cash, a 32% premium based on current exchange rates from Wednesday's closing price.

Dunelm shares dropped 4% after the homewares retailer reported a slowdown in sales growth in its third quarter due to "volatile" trading conditions. The company said total sales in the three months to 30 March were up 3% year-on-year at £435m, compared with 4.5% growth seen in the first half.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,891.53 0.55% FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,395.20 0.28% techMARK (TASX) 4,396.15 0.20%

FTSE 100 - Risers

International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 167.25p 4.08% easyJet (EZJ) 538.60p 3.94% Standard Chartered (STAN) 663.20p 3.11% National Grid (NG.) 1,039.00p 2.57% Prudential (PRU) 708.80p 2.40% Diageo (DGE) 2,856.50p 2.05% SSE (SSE) 1,644.00p 1.51% Severn Trent (SVT) 2,403.00p 1.48% Reckitt Benckiser Group (RKT) 4,170.00p 1.46% Phoenix Group Holdings (PHNX) 482.80p 1.43%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Rentokil Initial (RTO) 427.60p -4.32% BAE Systems (BA.) 1,292.00p -2.12% Unite Group (UTG) 921.50p -1.81% Croda International (CRDA) 4,824.00p -1.69% Experian (EXPN) 3,238.00p -1.31% Ocado Group (OCDO) 345.10p -0.89% Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 14,645.00p -0.78% Smurfit Kappa Group (CDI) (SKG) 3,428.00p -0.75% Spirax-Sarco Engineering (SPX) 9,380.00p -0.74% CRH (CDI) (CRH) 6,322.00p -0.69%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Hipgnosis Songs Fund Limited NPV (SONG) 92.60p 31.35% AJ Bell (AJB) 314.75p 6.69% Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 2,066.00p 3.98% Spire Healthcare Group (SPI) 246.50p 3.35% Apax Global Alpha Limited (APAX) 142.00p 2.16% Helios Towers (HTWS) 95.60p 2.14% VinaCapital Vietnam Opportunity Fund Ltd. (VOF) 475.00p 2.04% OSB Group (OSB) 383.60p 1.97% Wood Group (John) (WG.) 145.90p 1.89% Plus500 Ltd (DI) (PLUS) 2,066.00p 1.87%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Dunelm Group (DNLM) 1,026.00p -4.47% W.A.G Payment Solutions (WPS) 64.60p -3.58% Centamin (DI) (CEY) 125.10p -3.55% Vesuvius (VSVS) 458.50p -3.47% Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 80.00p -3.38% Twentyfour Income Fund Limited Ord Red (TFIF) 102.00p -3.04% Quilter (QLT) 99.80p -2.63% International Distributions Services (IDS) 269.20p -2.46% Foresight Group Holdings Limited NPV (FSG) 446.00p -1.98% Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 233.80p -1.52%